Yung Lean Talks Creativity, "Stranger", And The Price Of Fame

Yung Lean talks the highs and lows of his creative lifestyle.

While Yung Lean may have started off as a bit of an enigma, it soon became clear that the Swedish rapper possessed a genuine level of artistry. Last year, he dropped off his best album thus far, the haunting and melodic Stranger; the project proved he was capable of evolution, featuring some excellent tracks like "Red Bottom Sky," "Drop It/Scooter" and "Agony." Today, Lean spoke with Complex about a variety of topics, including "Stranger," his come-up, creativity, and the price of fame.

When he talks about Stranger, he goes on to make an interesting comparison to The Beach Boys, citing their magnum opus as one of his main influences. "Right now it’s at the Pet Sounds. To me, it feels like it can’t get any better. ‘Stranger’ was my Pet Sounds," explains Leandoer. "I guess it can get better, but to me I feel it was quite a big point in my career. To me, it’s an iconic album. It’s hard to outdo that now, but give it some time and there’ll be something extraordinary."

However, with great fame does come an extra headache - one that's not entirely lost on Lean. "That’s the horrible thing about my job. I have to pay a huge price to express myself," explains the Stranger artist. "You get people asking to take photos all the time, you can’t ride the subway… I still ride the subway but there’s always people sneaking photos or coming up to you. If you’re pissed off one day and someone gets right in your face and asks you for a photo it can fuck up your day."